Abstract: In agriculture, early-senescence of plant leaves is one of the important factors limiting the yield of grasses and other crops. It is would be useful to elucidate the molecular mechanisms of leaf senescence to enable the establishment of suitable senescing-delaying cultivation techniques in grass production. The productivity and quality of grass species and other crops could thus be further improved. Some studies have found that the initiation of senescence, changes of biochemical metabolic reactions and physiological processes combined with senescence, and modifications in the phenotypes of plants during plant senescence, were all due to the specific and programmed expressions of a group of genes related to plant senescence. There are also distinct coordination networks of expression and regulation among the senescent-related genes during the progress of plant senescence. In this paper, the cloning, functional classification, expression and regulation of senescence-related genes in plants, and progress in genetic engineering for delaying plant senescence are reviewed, with the purpose of providing a reference for improving the yield and quality of grass species and of other crops in the future by regulating the pathway of plant senescence.